


Hugs in the Aftermath

by F-117 Nighthawk (F117_Nighthawk)



Series: Hell is Anything but Blue [4]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Arc Reactor Issues, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Missing Scene, Mostly fluff though, Post-Avengers (2012), Protective Jarvis (Iron Man movies), i'm not a doctor but i'm kinda an engineer so i think the outlet thing would work?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-01
Updated: 2017-01-01
Packaged: 2018-09-13 18:06:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9135358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/F117_Nighthawk/pseuds/F-117%20Nighthawk
Summary: Following the Battle of New York, Tony Stark ends up with a penthouse full of Avengers and a damaged arc reactor. But everything's instantly bearable when Pepper arrives.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'd by the lovely [Stephatnam](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stephatnam) and my friend Sarah.

Tony Stark decided that whoever Fury answered to (probably the UN somehow) was incredibly stupid and had no regard for human life (because politicians were not human), and that was why they had decided that not listening to Fury (because Fury was not a fellow non-human-politician) was a good idea and sent  _ a fucking nuke _ at New York, not to mention that the six people most well equipped to handle the situation were right smack in the middle of the blast radius, as well as his beloved Stark Tower and Dum-E and U and half of JARVIS. There was no way in hell he was going to let politicians destroy his family. At least Pepper was (probably not so safely considering it was the political capitol) in DC. So when Fury had jumped on the comm and yelled about a nuke heading for New York, he was unsurprised when JARVIS immediately routed all power from non-necessary systems to the repulsors without prompting. His plan quickly resolved itself when Natasha's voice -when had he started calling her that?- came over the comm. "Guys, I can close the portal. I have a way to close it."

He knew the good Captain would tell her to close it immediately. Well, space's asshole could wait to close because he needed to shove a nuke up it. And he had plenty of experience shoving things up assholes. 

"Wait a minute, I've got a nuke coming in set to blow in less than a minute." He paused and braked with such force he almost greyed out, shooting upwards to grab the nuke while making a mental note that he really needed to get on upgrading the pressure-undersuit. "And I know just where to put it."

He would later reflect that the next minute went by a lot slower than it logically should have. He had a straight line from where he had caught the nuke to the Tower. All power that wasn't keeping him alive was in the repulsors, pushing the suit harder than he had any right to without killing himself. He realized that that might be what this came to. There was no way to get the nuke far enough into the portal to not damage the city without going in himself. JARVIS seemed to realize this too. He silenced the power critical alarm, removing it from his HUD. The AI's next words were a calm but sad "Sir, shall I call Miss Potts?"

"Might as well." Not like opening his comm up to one channel would make that much difference in power currently. He ordered even life support into the repulsors. Buildings zipped past, he might have flown over other Avengers at some point, but he wasn't paying attention.  His gaze was focused on the smiling ginger in the photo in his HUD, vainly hoping she would pick up. He forced the nuke to change direction and shot up Stark Tower, straight into space's asshole. Up, and up, up up up upupupupup until he wasn't. He gasped for breath, he was drowning, drowning in a sea of stars and nothingness. His picture of Pepper flickered out and the suit lost power. Drowning, drowning in nothing. Couldn't breathe, his chest was tight and full of nothing, the omnipresent stars constricting. The last working part of his brain registered a sensation of falling, and a bright, blazing ball of fire engulfing the area in front of him.

All he wanted was to hear Pepper's voice one last time.   
  
***************************************   
  
"Stark, you know that's a one way trip." It was more a statement than a question. Stark didn't answer him anyway.

He watched the red and gold armor speed overhead, going faster than he had seen it before. Stark somehow managed to pull up before he barreled through Stark Tower and zipped straight into the portal. Tense seconds passed, the Avengers, even Hulk, watching, waiting for a streak of red-gold-and-cocky-grin that would mean Stark -Tony- was alive.

Instead, they got an eyeful of explosion-cloud. They all knew that they had to close the portal, now, before the explosion came back through. He decided he needed to be the one to make the call. "Close it. Close the portal."

After a second of hesitation, the blue beam from the balcony of the Tower disappeared, the portal closing just as the explosion rolled up to it.

"I have eyes on Stark! Repeat, eyes on Stark!" Romanoff's relief was evident in her voice.

A quick search revealed a familiar suit flying through the sky. A closer look also revealed that the suit wasn't so much flying as falling. Next to him, Thor picked up on this as well. Whirling Mjölnir, Thor noted: "He's not slowing down." Before Thor could launch a rescue mission, Hulk slammed into Stark, holding him to his chest with one hand as he stopped their fall on a building with the other. The two skidded and thumped onto the street, Hulk gently tossing the armored body in his arms onto the asphalt. Steve and Thor ran over, Thor tearing Stark's faceplate off without caring where it landed. Stark wasn't breathing. He reached a hand to try and feel for a pulse. Nothing. "He's not breathing."

"Is the arc reactor lit?"

He was confused as to why that would matter, but answered Romanoff anyway. "No. Suit looks completely out of power."

He thought he heard a swear in Russian over the comm. "Thor, zap the reactor with a little lightning. Not a lot, but enough to jumpstart it."

"The circle that should glow blue?"

"Yes. Hurry up, if it starts glowing again he should start breathing again." Romanoff sounded worried. That was strange, and it didn’t bode well if the Black Widow was showing emotion.

Thor twirled Mjölnir a second, then zapped Stark. The genius jolted, the arc reactor sparked to life, and Stark's nostrils flared as he took a breath. It was a quick, gasping breath, but it was followed by another, and another. He felt a surprisingly strong pulse under his fingers. "Oh thank God."   
  
***************************************   
  
Darkness, everything was dark, darker than it should be, pressing on his chest, he couldn't breathe, breathe breathe breathebreathebreathe spark spark it was shocking him shoving water in his throat yelling he couldn't understand water in his lungs choking breathebreathebreathe shocking him stop stop stop he'd build it he'd build it Yinsen tell them he'd build it breathebreathebreathe shock water breathebreathebreathe water drowning shock breathebreathebreathebreathebreathebreathe-

A roar that did not belong in a cave cut through the panic. He dared to open his eyes. Well, if they were Afghani and this was a cave he had been here way too long and was hallucinating because he was fairly certain that was Captain Fucking America and this looked like New York. 

"Sir, Sir, calm down, please."

That was JARVIS. JARVIS hadn't been in the cave. And he was wearing the suit. A very advanced and painted version of the suit. He decided that he was missing some time here. "What the hell. What just happened?" Time came rushing back suddenly. Oh. No one had performed CPR, right, 'cause that could actually make his situation worse. Did Cap even know CPR? Bruce did but he was Hulked out (he had probably been the roar that had snapped him out of whatever he had been in), and Asgardian physiology was probably different than Human so Thor was unlikely to know. "Please tell me nobody kissed me."

Cap sat back on his haunches, laughing slightly. "We won."

They had? What about the rest of the Chitauri, the soldiers that had still been flying around? Also, where the hell was his faceplate? His HUD would've been kinda useful right now.

Considering that they hadn't been attacked in the time he'd been lying here and he could see his portal-less Tower from here, he decided to accept Cap's statement. "Hey, woho, good job everyone, let's just not come in tomorrow, yeah? Take the day off." A random snippet of memory from after what someone (JARVIS) was undoubtedly going to dub his 'Jonah Stunt' came to the front of his mind. "Hey, you ever tried shawarma? I don't know what it is, but I hear it's good and I wanna try it."

"There is still my brother to deal with."

Goddamn Loki. Or was that Thordamn Loki? Odindamn Loki? He wanted food, right now. Post-battle cravings came before capturing insane Asgardian gods.

"And then shawarma?"

"Only if you're paying, Stark," a voice came over the comm. He was pretty sure it was Barton.

"Deal."

Standing up had never hurt so much. His chest was on fire, from what he wasn't sure, and his legs felt like they were dead. He ended up almost passing out again and leaning against Cap.

Oh, and there was his faceplate.    
  
***************************************   
  
Six Avengers collapsed in his living room hours later, still fully armored. Fury had given them the rest of the day without risk of further debrief (although he had warned them to be ready to help clean up tomorrow) and they had eaten his requested shawarma.

"J, you still working here?"

"Mostly, Sir."

The other Avengers started, looking around wildly for the source of the voice. He grinned, leaving them to wonder for the moment, asking the AI: "Why didn't the emergency bulkhead activate on the windows?"

"The mechanism seems to be partly blocked, I am unable to move it."

"Right, I'll see what I can do." He pulled the panel away from the floor next to the windows. The mechanism covering had been dented in such a way that it blocked the hydraulics from pushing the bulkhead up. He pounded it into shape with his gauntlet, and flicked the switch. The bulkhead shot up, covering the broken glass. "Right, okay, anywhere else that we could fall out of, J?"

"I don't believe so, Sir."

"Good. Avengers, feel free to crash anywhere-shit!" His leg didn't appreciate his attempt to stand up, the armor plate suddenly digging into his shin. He fell to one knee, leg refusing to take the weight of the armor.

"Stark? You alright?" Leave it to Cap to be concerned about him while still searching for JARVIS. 

"Fuck. Yep, just, forgot I have giant rips in my armor that are kinda sharp and managed to kneel on one. Gimme a minute."

He was well aware of five pairs of eyes on his back as he shifted his weight to his other leg and pushed himself up. "JARVIS, spinning rings still working?"

"Yes, Sir, all the way down."

"Set 'em up, gotta get this off before I stab myself again."

"Spinning rings?" That was Barton.

"Suit assembly/disassembly rig. Named because it involves spinning rings," he answered, walking (limping) towards his landing platform. Lined up on it, he followed the walkway.

"Sir, pause for a moment please? I don't want to injure you further," JARVIS requested, attempting to pry off his greaves.

He obliged, asking: "How much of this do you think can be salvaged?"

"That would require full diagnostics, but first glance suggests much of it. Shall I run diagnostics in the shop?"

"Yes please. Can I-ow! JARVIS!"

"I would apply pressure to that, Sir. You may move now."   
He grumbled at the AI, walking back in and grabbing the first aid kit from the bar. "As I was saying before I interrupted myself," he addressed the Avengers as he bandaged the gash on his leg, "feel free to crash anywhere in the penthouse. Mi casa es su casa. Bathroom's that way, there's another on the master bedroom, guest bedrooms scattered around. They all have access to Internet and phones and JARVIS, so if you need anything just ask him."

"Jarvis?" Barton asked him.

He grinned again and said, "Introduce yourself to the Avengers, would you, J? Time you all met formally."

"Greetings, Avengers. I am JARVIS, Mr. Stark's AI butler and Iron Man armor interface."

"Well that's overly simplified," he muttered, slumping down on an unoccupied chair. He rubbed the reactor unconsciously, beginning to realize that skipping a trip to SHIELD medical may have been a mistake because his chest still ached in a most definitely not healthy way. It didn't feel like a broken rib (God knew he'd had his fair share of those) and was probably just from the fact that he'd been out of air for a good while, but his unique physiology meant he shouldn't take risks when it came to his chest. But he was fucking exhausted and didn't want to deal with Fury's cronies (they were almost as bad as politicians) poking at his chest longer than they needed to. He'd just go down to the shop and have JARVIS look at it.

Belatedly, he realized that Rogers had asked him a question. "What?"

"Is your AI named after Edwin Jarvis?"

He blinked. "You knew Jarvis?"

"Yes, I met him a couple times. He traveled around with Howard a lot."

"JARVIS is named after him. Still taking care of me even after he's dead."

Tony ignored the others asking JARVIS questions and wandering into different rooms, thinking through what he needed to do before his body decided to go through with its imminent threat of collapse and how much coffee he’d need to bring down to the shop. Mostly, though, he was concerned about his family. Dum-E and U were easy enough to check on, JARVIS seemed to be fine, but there was no guarantee he was going to be able to get through to Pepper. She was likely going to be swamped with making statements to the press since SHIELD was keeping all the Avengers away and, well, everyone had seen him flying around which meant if they couldn’t contact him directly they’d hound Pep. He sighed quietly, deciding to distract himself by doing what he could, namely going down to his shop, checking up on Dum-E and U, and scanning his chest to figure out what the hell was wrong with it this time.

Tony stood up, ready to make some excuse about fixing his armor to go down to the shop, almost toppled over when he put too much weight on his left leg, and realized he was freezing cold. That didn’t make any sense. It was May in New York, it was sixty degrees (fifteen and a half, his brain supplied in celsius), it just simply wasn’t cold enough for him to be this cold. “J, run a diagnostic on the tower systems when you have a chance. Make sure the HVAC is working. I’m going down to the shop.”

“I ran diagnostics while you were on the Helicarrier and eating shawarma. The HVAC is operating within optimum parameters.”

Tony paused in his walk. “What’s it set at?”

“Sixty-seven degrees fahrenheit.”

Well, this wasn’t good.

Tony looked around. “Hey, Cap, are you cold?”

Rogers turned to look at him from the door to a hallway. “No? I feel fine. Why?”

Tony looked at the captain and muttered under his breath “Could just be a result of being frozen and a super soldier, different definition of cold. Same could go for Bruce, Thor’s always in shortsleeves and he’s Asgardian same definitely goes. That leaves Natasha and birdbrain.” Glancing around he spotted the two SHIELD Agents and yelled at them “Romaoff, Barton, are you guys cold?”

The two glanced back at him from inspecting the bar. “I’m not,” Natasha said. 

“Me neither,” Barton added. 

“Shit,” Tony muttered, and looked down at his chest. The arc reactor seemed to be fine, but the fact that he was  _ fucking freezing _ attested otherwise. Damn, this had better be an easy fix. “Okay, now I  _ really _ need to get down to the shop.”

“Sir, Miss Potts is calling.”

Relief sunk into him, pain in his chest and the fact he was freezing cold forgotten. "I'll take it in the shop."   
  
***************************************   
  
He collapsed into his chair in his shop, popping up the call screen. Pepper's face appeared, and he slumped even further into the chair.

"Pepper. Oh thank god you're alright, Pepper."

"Tony. Tony are you alright, I saw the footage, there was still a camera working and it caught you flying into the portal and falling out. They may have called it flying but I could tell and oh god why are you crying I should be the one crying you almost got yourself killed."

He tried to blink the tears back, but only succeeded in releasing more. "I thought I'd never hear your voice again," he choked out, "I tried to call you but you didn't pick up and when I flew in, the reactor failed and the suit lost power. It was like drowning and all I wanted was to hear your voice." He was trying and pretty much failing to not sob. Dum-E and U rolled over, putting their claws on his shoulders. Pepper was crying too.

"I'm never putting my phone down again. I'm coming back from DC."

"Okay," he said, attempting to collect himself. "Be warned, the penthouse is a bit of a mess, and the entire Avengers Initiative is passed out up there. None of us wanted to deal with Fury tonight. And is there a way SI could help out? Like, reattach the Tower to the electrical grid and provide power to parts of Manhattan until everything's back up and running?"

"We can figure something out when I get there, I'm sure. Get some rest, you look exhausted. I love you, Tony."

"Love you too, Pepper."

She clicked off, his eyes didn't leave the screen. "JARVIS?"

"Sir?"

"I'm freezing. Dummy, You, go find my reactor stuff. J, don't let anyone but Pepper down. I don't want any interruptions."

"Does a call from Colonel Rhodes count?"

"Rhodey's calling? Put him through."

The screen lit up with an image of War Machine’s faceplate, indicating Rhodey was calling from his suit. "Tones, oh my god are you okay?"

"Fine, Rhodey. Where are you? You didn't answer my call; I asked for help, just like you insisted."

"I was foiling terrorists in China, keeping them off your company's campus. Sorry I couldn't help, I saw the news."

"You coming back? We-" a loud crash from behind him interrupted him. He turned around to find U covered in tools. "You! Watch it, I'm on the phone." A sad beep came from the pile. He sighed. "Dummy, dig him out."

Rhodey was laughing over the line. "Hey, don't laugh at my bots. I was going to offer you food and a bed, but I guess I'm not now." "I'm checking in at DC anyway. Pepper still there?"

"For now, she's coming back here."

"Is that safe?"

"Mostly?"

"Maybe I'll join her, get her past the inevitable blockade."

"If you intend to stay over, I'll warn you that the Avengers are asleep in the penthouse. Don't kill Romanoff and she won't kill you."

"Romanoff's there?"

"Yep. I'm not questioning her or bird-brain. Fury does what he wants."

He could hear the raised eyebrow. "I'll see you soon, Tony."

"See you. And, Rhodes?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks."

"Anytime, Tones."

There was a click and the War Machine symbol disappeared from his screen.

"Alright, boys, let's go to work. JARVIS, I told you to turn the heat up."

"I did, Sir."

"Well, turn it up more."   
  
***************************************   
  
"One two one two, intercom still working?"

"Stark? We hear you." Despite the suddenness, this was a lot easier for him than talking to JARVIS. Thor stopped his wandering around inspecting the wood and looked up at the ceiling, and Steve put the book he had found down. Natasha didn’t look up from the bottle of vodka she had taken from the bar. Bruce and Clint were passed out on the furniture already.

"Good. First thing, if a guy in a grey version of my suit comes flying in with a red-head woman, don't kill them. They're my best friend and girlfriend and I would very much appreciate not having to find a new CEO or explaining to the military how War Machine got killed when he wasn't even here for the battle. And has anyone seen my spare arc reactor? JARVIS lost track of it when Loki was being smashed around. If it got tossed out the window I'm going to be pissed."

Natasha looked up suddenly, expression a strange mix of what he guessed to be apprehension and protectiveness, moving to stare at what Steve guessed was a camera. "Why do you need it?"

"Because this one is slightly damaged and if I can put fixing it a little lower on the priority list that would be helpful."

"Is this it, Man of Iron?" Thor said, picking something up from a dent in the floor. 

"Tony, Thor, Tony, and I can't see it from that angle, you’re blocking the cameras. Nat, point him to a camera please?"

With a skeptical look that he assumed to be about the nickname, Natasha turned Thor to face a camera. He could see it now as well. It bore a resemblance to the one in the Iron Man armor, but looked like it had been crushed, metal flattened and bent in places he didn't think it was supposed to, and it wasn't glowing the familiar blue.

Stark groaned. "That's it," he sighed, "I'm sending one of the bots up to-hey, watch it, Dummy!- get it." Stark seemed to forget the intercom was on for a moment. "You, elevator, penthouse, get the-" he was interrupted by a loud crash. "You! That is the exact same tool rack you crashed into when Rhodey was on the line! It hasn't moved! How?! Is your camera broken or something? No, don't move, I'll dig you out in a minute. Dummy, elevator, penthouse, get the spare arc from Thor. J will help you out. You, I said don't move!" There was a click as the line shut down.

He was very confused. "Who was he talking to?"

"He has two robots he built," Romanoff explained, "they're called Dummy and You. From what I understand they mostly help him out in the workshop."

"What's with the names?"

"Ask him," she shrugged.

A minute later what could only be described as an arm on a platform came rolling out of the elevator. The robot's camera turned to face them all, beeping something that might have been a question.

"Next to Agent Romanoff, Dummy," JARVIS said. Dummy rolled over to Thor, grabbed the reactor from his hands, and trundled back into the elevator. The Avengers stared after Dummy.

"Well," Steve stated, "I think I owe Fury another ten bucks."   
  
***************************************   
  
Dum-E rolled into the shop with what remained of his spare arc reactor. Tony placed the last few tools in the rack and walked over to the bot.

"The one in my chest is failing and this one is in ten pieces. I really wish we'd been here more than a week." He sighed, considering options. "JARVIS, will this one," he tapped his chest, "last me to Malibu?"

"I don't believe so. The only thing keeping that one active is Thor's supercharge. The Starkium is completely gone, and the clamps for it are charred and brittle, not to mention the multiple broken wires and glass that leave me with no idea how it's even charging the electromagnet or your heart."

"Probably transmitting through the neutron discharge. How long does this one have?"

"Approximately two hours, Sir."

"What about Rhodey and Pepper, what's their ETA?"

"Four hours ten minutes."

"Phhffffff. Can't use Rhodey's. This leaves macgyvering."

"Sir? May I-"

"Shut up, I'm thinking." He scanned the room, categorizing the tools at his disposal. His eye caught on an outlet behind his desk. Clapping his hands, he spun to his bots. "Dummy, find me ten insulated wires, at least three feet in length. You, wire-cutters, solder and soldering iron, and a hammer. And a chisel."

"Sir, I must warn you to be careful."

"Can you cut electricity to this outlet and turn it back on when I'm done?"

"Done, Sir. Are you going to make a battery out of the outlet?"

"Nope. Gonna connect myself to it, then kludge the reactors together to make something that'll last me three and a half hours. Thank you, You."

"Sir, I am not sure this is the wisest method."

"J, you said yourself that I'm not going to last the time it will take to get over to Malibu where the rest of the reactors are, nor am I going to last long enough to borrow Rhodey's, and his is modified enough I'm not sure it would even work. Plus I keep forgetting to modify the shop to let other people access the arc reactors. Make a note to do that once this mess is over. Anyway, I need power, this is how we get power."

"But, the outlet is designed to only send a continuous charge."

"You've got control of it, right? We'll rig something up with the monitor stickers and you can pulse the outlet at the right frequency while I work. The magnet and pacemaker will be connected differently so we don't have to worry about shrapnel."

"Still, Sir."

"I appreciate your concern, JARVIS, truly I do."   
  
***************************************   
  
Five hours later, Rhodey landed on Stark Tower. He took in the destroyed outside and the broken glass he could see. "The media does not do this justice," he muttered. He stepped out of the suit, careful with his footing on the rubble strewn landing pad. 

"Hello, Colonel Rhodes," JARVIS said through his working speakers, "Shall I take the suit?"

"Go ahead, JARVIS." He walked into the living room, coming face to face with Natasha Romanoff.

"Colonel Rhodes."

"Hello, Agent Romanoff. Can I, uh, sit down?"

"Stark's place, not mine. Not really room though." She moved out of his way, sitting on the bar counter.

He looked at the four others sprawled around the room. A muscly blond guy was asleep in a chair, a man with not-quite-standard-issue SHIELD gear was sprawled on half the couch, a guy with glasses had the other half, and Captain America was passed out on the floor. "Where's Tony?"

"Presumably still in his workshop," Romanoff answered.

He turned to her, taking in the subtle clues that one had to be looking for. "How are you awake?"

She shrugged. "Covert ops specialist. I'm used to being up for over three days straight. Plus, someone needs to keep watch."

"JARVIS can do that."

Romanoff raised an eyebrow at him, "Cameras can be damaged, fiddled with, covered up. Loki not only got up here but access to the arc reactor. Forgive me for not fully trusting Stark's tech right now."

"You're lucky he's not up here," he muttered, picking his way through debris and sleeping superhumans to the elevator. "JARVIS, take me down to the shop."

"Forgive me, Colonel, but Sir has requested that only Miss Potts come down, and I am reluctant to wake him up."

Rhodey stiffened in the middle of the room, fight or flight response suddenly in overdrive. "Is that code for a roma-como situation?"

JARVIS was silent for a moment.

"JARVIS, if he's-"

"Not, anymore. The situation has been resolved for the moment."

"For the moment?"

"I am not permitted to discuss this topic with others in the room."

He huffed at his best friend's (understandable) paranoia and stomped as quietly as he could to Tony's bedroom, ignoring Romanoff's look. 

"Talk."

"The reactor was damaged during the battle, which lead to a roma-como situation. It shorted out when Sir flew into the portal, the suit lost power and Sir lost consciousness. Thor managed to restart it with a little lightning and Sir regained consciousness, but it was slowly failing throughout the day, and causing Sir considerable pain I may add. Sir ran diagnostics on everything once he managed to arrive back at the tower, and discovered that Thor's charge was the only thing keeping him alive. The spare reactor was found but it was crushed during the battle, so Sir took parts from both to make a working one and fell asleep."

"So he's not in danger of dying anymore."

"No, but it would be wise for him to fly over to Malibu to get a new reactor."

Quiet voices were heard from the other room. He poked his head out to see Pepper, trim as ever, talking quietly with Romanoff.

"Colonel, would you let me tell Miss Potts?"

He sighed, "Fine, JARVIS," and drew back into the room.    
  
***************************************   
  
Pepper stepped hesitantly into Tony's workshop, pile of blankets JARVIS had requested she grab in hand. The first thing she noticed was that the shop was warmer than normal. The second was the shop was surprisingly clean, which was likely a result of it not being used for as long was the one in Malibu. In the corner on a raised platform stood the remains of the Mark VII Iron Man suit, wires hooked up through the helmet and arc reactor port. A screen next to it had numbers and diagnostic results flashing faster than she could make sense of them. On one of the work tables sat what she guessed was the battered remnants of the Mark VI. Some of it seemed to have been striped for wires, and bits of metal were gone from the chest. Pushed away from its usual corner was Tony’s desk, surprisingly with nothing but a coffee cup and a few small tools on it. In the corner, where the desk usually was, sat Dum-E, arm curled around the man she was searching for. Tony was leaning against Dum-E’s chassis, tools he had obviously been working with scattered about him. U was carefully picking some of them up and setting them down on Tony's desk.

Pepper left her heels at the door and picked her way across the floor until she reached the three. Her eyes widened as she saw that Tony was indeed asleep, and that, instead of the arc reactor, his chest was connected to an outlet in the wall. “Oh, Tony,” she murmured, kneeling next to him. She pressed a kiss to his hair and put her pile of blankets on the floor. “How is he, JARVIS?”

“As well as can be expected,” the AI said. Monitor holograms appeared in the air next to her, showing Tony’s vitals. “I am currently in control of his heartbeat, which the bastardised outlet seems to be holding up as well as the electromagnet. There does not seem to be any trouble with his lungs, which is extremely lucky. He has many bruises and possibly a concussion, but he avoided any internal bleeding this time. However without the arc reactor providing extra heat he is showing slight signs of hypothermia. I have the heat up as high as I dare without overheating many of the systems in here, which is why I asked you to bring the warm blankets.”

Pepper considered the sleeping genius as she unfolded one of the blankets. “Dummy, could you release him for a moment so I can wrap him in blankets?”

The robot bobbed its claw and slowly unwrapped itself from Tony. “Please be careful of the wires, Miss Potts, they are live.”

“Of course, thank you, JARVIS.”

Slowly and carefully, Pepper swaddled Tony in all but one of the blankets. “Better, JARVIS?”

“I believe so. Thank you, Miss Potts. May I ask what you intend to do with the last one?”

Pepper draped the blanket around herself and scooted around so she could hold Tony while he slept. She gave the bots a soft smile as Dum-E curled around them both and U pulled the blankets gently, tucking them in.    
  
***************************************   
  
Tony woke up to the sensation of warmth behind him and unconsciously snuggled into it. That movment made him aware of the wires in his chest and suddenly he was much more awake. His eyes widened in momentary horror at the fact that  _ the arc reactor was not in his chest _ before remembering that was his own doing. He attempted to sit up straight before realizing that there were arms holding him in place and a familiar cascade of red hair on his shoulder. He turned his head and smiled at Pepper, who was asleep, tucked in between him and Dum-E with her head resting on his shoulder. “Hey, J,” he whispered, “how long have I been out?”

“About five hours, Sir. I had You wake you up as that is the minimum amount of rest you require to reach Malibu without falling. The diagnostics on the suit finished four hours ago, and I have machined several necessary parts and had You insert them. The Mark VII is in acceptable condition to take you to Malibu.”

Tony hummed an acknowledgment and leaned back against Pepper, then realized that was a  _ very _ bad idea when he felt an unpleasant tugging sensation in his chest. He sat back up and said “Okay. Anyone have any idea how to wake Pep up without freaking her out or me moving?”

Dum-E beeped much louder than necessary. “Ow! Dummy! Decibel level!” he hissed, moving to clap his hands over his ears and only then realizing he was swaddled in about ten blankets.

Pepper moved behind him, making groggy little noises that he would have considered adorable were he inclined to such things. Tony sighed and glared at Dum-E. “Don’t do that again.”

The bot drooped its camera. U stopped moving around with tools and made a beeping noise that sounded suspiciously like R2-D2’s laughter. 

“Oh my god, why did I bring you two up to watch Star Wars. You’ve picked up Artoo noises.”

Behind him, Pepper snorted, and mumbled into his shoulder: “I thought you had them watch Star Wars precisely for that.”

“Morning, beautiful. Actually it’s probably not morning. J, what time is it?”

“Oh-one-twenty-one.”

“Eh, close enough. Did you bring all these blankets, Pep?”

“Yeah,” she yawned, picking her head up and stretching her arms up. “JARVIS said you were cold. Hypothermia-level cold,” she added, twisting to look him in the eyes.

He wriggled one of his hands out of the blankets to grab hers and bring it up to kiss it. “Well, to fix that I need you to let me up and You in with my stuff. You, uh, probably don’t want to be in here, Pep.”

Pepper stood up, wincing as she popped her back. “I’ll stay and help if I can. It can’t be as bad as when I stuck my hand in your chest.”

Tony made a face. “Yeah, its, um, pretty much exactly the same thing. I don’t want to put you through that again.”

She looked at him in disbelief. His expression was one part sheepish admittance and two parts disgust. “I don’t care. I love you and I’m going to help you so you’re not stuck to this outlet forever.”

Tony’s expression went from disbelief to relief through concern and settled on blank determination. “Alright then. Dummy, You, bring the mirror and pliers. JARVIS, prepare to cut the power. Pepper, do the honors would you and bring the reactor from wherever You put it?”

He sat there, concentrating on his breathing and getting himself out of the cocoon of blankets. After a moment, the bots rolled over with the requested tools and Pepper knelt down next to him, arc reactor in hand. The reactor looked like a mess: parts of the casing were red and seemed to have come from the Mark VI, the wires were a mass of colors, and the solder looked like it had been applied by a child. She considered it, wondering if she shouldn’t get Tony to take the jet over instead of flying himself, but figured there was no chance of that. “You ready?”

“Hey, this is the easy part. Setting this all up was a hassle. Are you sure you want to help?”

Pepper picked up the pliers. “What are these for, removing the wires in your chest?”

“I’ll take that as a yes. Once J cuts the power, use those to unwind the wires around the connectors along the sides of the mounting. Then the reactor goes in, but I’ll deal with that. Got it?”

Pepper nodded and mentally braced herself for sticking her arm in Tony’s chest again. 

Tony took a steadying breath. “Ready, JARVIS?”

“Ready, Sir.”

“Cut power.”

Everytime he took the reactor out he swore he could sense the electromagnet stopping, the shrapnel moving minutely through his body to his heart, spelling his inevitable early doom. But the electromagnet was nothing compared to the sensation of his heart basically stopping. Feeling his heart pretty much stop beating was always just plain  _ wrong.  _ He had a mental countdown of how long he had until loss of oxygen caused his brain to start going wonky. Eight minutes.

Tony’d never admit it, but this was much easier to do with someone else because he didn’t have to be shoving his own hand into his chest in positions where he was much more likely to shock himself on something than do whatever he was trying to do. He watched as Pepper stuck her arm in his chest, concentrating on his breathing and ignoring the sensations of the wires unlocking from the emergency connectors he had inserted into the mounting of the reactor for just this scenario. One wire came out, then the second, followed by the third. As Pepper pulled the last one out, grimacing at the neutron discharge on her hand, he groped on the floor for the arc reactor. Dum-E nudged it into his hand carefully. He picked the reactor up and slipped it into his chest, turning it and locking it to its mount. He breathed a sigh of relief as he felt his heart start back to its normal beat, the electromagnet whirring to life. All the tension in his body drained into the floor. 

“Tony?”

“Dummy, get Pepper a towel. I’m fine, Pep. Help me up?” he said, looking up at her with a smile. She stood and grabbed his hand, hauling him off the floor. They looked into eachother’s eyes for a moment, before Pepper grabbed his face and kissed him, hard. He pulled her closer and returned the kiss, content to give up breathing if it meant that she was alive and in his arms.

Eventually he had to pull back for air, decreased lung capacity never helpful in such matters. Pepper pressed her head to his chest, intent on feeling his steady heartbeat, hearing his soft breaths, feeling his warmth. Tony nuzzled his head into her neck, smelling her hair, feeling her heartbeat.

“You’re alive,” she whispered, holding back a sob.

“We’re both alive. We’re alive and okay,” he said, not as successful at holding back a sob.

They stood in the corner of the shop, crying tears of relief. Dum-E and U curled their arms around them, attempting to comfort them. Once they had calmed down a bit, JARVIS said “Sir, I am sorry to interrupt, but you really must be on your way to Malibu.”

Pepper sniffed and pulled back slightly. “Right. You’re not completely okay yet. JARVIS, wake Rhodey up and get him to follow Tony to Malibu. No buts, Tony,” she said to his open mouth, “if you’re not going to go on the jet Rhodey’s going with you.”

Tony blinked at her for a moment, then pressed a kiss to her lips. “I love you. I’d be dead a thousand times over if you weren’t looking out for me.” Then he pulled her towards the elevator. “Send the Seven up, J. Dummy, You, I’ll be back in a couple hours, hold the fort down.”   
  
***************************************   
  
Tony glided into his workshop in Malibu, settling down on the armor platform. “J, take it off,” he murmured, staring down at the arc reactor.

“Is that supposed to be flickering?” Rhodey asked, landing next to him and stepping out of his armor.

“Suit’s causing a power drain, once it’s off it’ll be fine,” Tony mumbled. The flight over had been exhausting, and he was becoming acutely aware of multiple deep-seated bruises that were very painful. The arc reactor was about to fail, fail safes causing his heart to slow to sleep levels. 

Rhodey didn’t look convinced at his reassurance, standing next to him as JARVIS removed the Mark VII. Rhodey was even less convinced when JARVIS released Tony from the last of the suit and his first steep turned into an exhausted stumble. Rhodey caught him before he fell. “Okay, Tones, I’m going to help you over there. JARVIS, where are we going?”

“The spares are stored in the sides of the Hall of Armor. However, I need Sir’s authorisation.”

“Hall authorisation Iota-Mu code Roma-Zara-Padova-Como,” Tony told the AI. They started walking towards the Hall of Armor, Tony looking at nothing but the side that had opened to reveal a stack of arc reactors. Rhodey kept one eye on the floor to make sure they didn’t trip and the other on the arc reactor in his best friend’s chest. The reactor was still flickering, almost like it was in a pattern. He realized it was a pattern, and almost stopped walking. “Is that thing flickering in _ morse code? _ ”

“If you must know when the arc reactors are close to failing they flicker in an SOS pattern, yes.”

Rhodey was thankful they had reached the Hall of Armors because he started laughing and couldn’t support Tony anymore. 

Tony rolled his eyes at his best friend and reached for one of the spare reactors. “Most of the time when they start failing I’m unconscious, and sometimes JARVIS is down as well. It’s a last ditch effort to get someone to go, oh, hey, there’s a person dying over here.”

Tony switched the arc reactors and finally felt like he could breathe. He had a perfectly working, Starkium charged arc reactor, and was no longer in danger of dying. He could fly back to New York without worrying about losing power, he could take part in the clean up without danger of dying. He could take Pepper up on those sweet nothings. 

“You okay?” Rhodey asked, having finally calmed down.

“Yep. Let’s go back.”

**Author's Note:**

> I had a shitty Christmas break and needed fluff. This has been flitting around in my Google Drive for like six months so I finally finished it. 
> 
> There are plans to add this to a series I have in mind, but that might have to wait until after the AP tests (and I may finish my Ninjago thing first because despite it not being as far along it hasn't changed a thousand times and doesn't need to be pretty much completely rewritten)


End file.
